As a legal wrangle between a contracting firm and Transport for London has delayed the start of the Silvertown Tunnel project, Caroline Pidgeon has called on the Mayor to use the delay as an opportunity to rethink this misguided scheme.
Caroline said:
"Both the mayor and TfL are now in the position where they have been blocked from awarding a major contract for the Silvertown road tunnel.
As Transport for London admitted that the rate of fare evasion on "Boris buses" is twice as much as on the rest of the bus network, Caroline Pidgeon has called for TfL to look for alternatives that don't prevent passengers from boarding at the centre and back doors.
Caroline said:
Caroline Pidgeon shared the frustration of outer London residents that Transport for London's promised review of their bus services will now take five years to complete.
Caroline said:
“The Mayor and TfL have always defended cutting bus services in central London on the grounds that buses will be redeployed to outer London.
“It now seems that only part of that deal is being honoured – that of cutting bus services in central London.
Caroline joined local Havering residents at an event in Romford looking at public transport accessibility across Greater London. The event gave people with disabilities the opportunity to give feedback and hear about the services already on offer.
Caroline explained the importance of looking at these issues in detail:
Caroline took on the Mayor at Question Time over his support for the Silvertown road tunnel.
The Mayor talks about air pollution being a ‘public health emergency’, yet his policy of building a new road tunnel under the Thames will inevitably create more traffic and pollution.
At Mayor's Question Time, Caroline welcomed the Mayor's plan to improve the van scrappage scheme to include sole traders, but stressed the need to go further and include mobility credits as part of the new car scrappage scheme.
Caroline met campaigners at City Hall to receive a petition to the London Assembly against the Mayor’s plans for a new tunnel between Silvertown and Greenwich. "The case for a new road tunnel just does not stack up when we are trying to clean up London’s air" said Caroline.
As the London Assembly Transport Committee published its report into the handling of the long-delayed Crossrail project, committee chair Caroline Pidgeon said:
“It is a complete tragedy that one of the most highly anticipated engineering projects the world has ever seen has found itself in a mess of overspending, mismanagement and an embarrassingly long delay.
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, commenting on the decision confirmed by the Mayor to totally scrap the RV1 bus service from 15th June 2019, said:
“In the same week as the start of the Ultra Low Emission Zone the Mayor has made the decision to cut one of the few zero-emission bus routes in London, serving an area with some of the worst air pollution in the capital. The total lack of joined up thinking is staggering.
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, commenting on the announcement that Hammersmith Bridge has suddenly closed, said:
“Hammersmith and Fulham Council claim that the bridge has suddenly had to be closed due to safety concerns, yet the council has for many years arrogantly refused to publish any information about the structural state of the bridge. The council has not helped itself by being so secretive.
